Defending State Authority Over Education Act of 2015
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit the Secretary of Education from attempting to influence, incentivize, or coerce a state to participate in a voluntary partnership with another state to develop and implement academic content and achievement standards and assessments.
Prohibits the Secretary from conditioning the approval of a state's, local educational agency's (LEA's), or Indian tribe's request for a waiver of ESEA statutory or regulatory requirements on such an entity: (1) including in, or deleting from, such request, specific academic standards; (2) using specific academic assessment instruments or items; or (3) including in, or deleting from, such waiver request any criteria used to establish, implement, or improve state academic standards, academic assessments, state accountability systems, or teacher and school leader evaluation systems.
Prohibits any federal officer or employee from directly or indirectly mandating, directing, or controlling a state's, LEA's, or school's specific instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curricula, or program of instruction, including through the placement of conditions on financial support.